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Friday, March 29, 2013

ON THE TRIP TO VEGAS TO SEE MIKEY THE GAMING WENT WELL FOR REX AND WHEN I WIN, I LIKE TO BLOW OFF A LITTLE EXTRA CASH SO WE HEADED OUT TO THE STRIP AND TOOK MIKEY AND BILL UP ON THE TOP OF THE STRATOSPHERE TOWER.

THE VIEWS ARE GREAT, AND MARY AND I LEFT MIKEY AND BILL, AS MIKEY WAS TRYING TO TALK HIMSELF INTO JUMPING OFF THE TOWER ON A CABLE. IT’S A NEWER THRILL RIDE.

MARY HAS BEEN WANTING TO CHECK OUT THE RETAIL SHOPS ON THE MIRICAL MILE AT PLANET HOLLYWOOD AND FEW COLD BEERS AND THE CASINO KEPT ME OCCUPIED WHILE SHE WAS SHOPPING. SHE MET ME AT 4:00 PM AND TOOK ME FOR A LOBSTER ROLL FOR A LATE LUNCH.

NEXT STOP WAS THE BELLAGIO AND WE HAPPENED TO CATCH THE FOUNTAIN SHOW ON OUR WAY IN.

SOME OF THESE SHOTS OF WATER GO OVER 400 FEET IN THE AIR, A BEAUTIFUL FREE 15 MINUTE SHOW.

WE WERE ON OUR WAY IN TO SEE THE SEASONAL GARDENS INSIDE, AND MARY WILL SHOW YOU THE PICTURES IN TOMORROWS BLOG.

Wednesday, March 27, 2013

MIKEY’S SECOND ANNUAL VEGAS VACATION, AT LEAST WE HOPE IT’S NOW AN ANNUAL TRIP!! IT TOOK US OVER 10 YEARS TO TALK HIM INTO THE FIRST TRIP AND NOW I THINK IT’S MIKEYS FAVORITE PLACE ON THE PLANET, JUST LIKE REX.

HERE WE ARE AT A CASINO PARTY FOR THE NCAA BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT ON THE 12TH FLOOR IN THE BALLROOM AT THE D CASINO.

WOULDN’T YOU KNOW IT, BESIDES LOTS OF BIG TV’S, FOOD, AND A BAR THEY BROUGHT IN A CRAPS TABLE AND A COUPLE OF BLACKJACK TABLES?

THIS IS MIKE’S FRIEND BILL, A PLEASURE TO MEET YOU BILL AND HANG OUT FOR A COUPLE OF DAYS.

OF COURSE WE STAYED ON FREMONT STREET, HERE ARE THE PICTURES.

BAGEL GIRL ……

FOR SOME REASON SHE HAD THESE BAGELS GLUED ON HER CHEST? IT WAS HER GOAL TO ENTERTAIN AND FIRE UP THE CROWD IN FRONT OF THE VEGAS CLUB AND THE GOLDEN GATE.

AND OF COURSE A BARTENDER OUT FRONT OF THE GOLDEN GATE CAUGHT OUR EYE AS SHE PRANCED ACROSS THE TOP OF THE BAR.

WHAT HAPPENS IN VEGAS, STAYS IN VEGAS……

BUT IF YOU RUN INTO MIKEY AT A BAR IN PRAIRE DU CHEIN HERE’S A LITTLE LIST OF QUESTIONS YOU MIGHT WANT TO ASK HIM TO GET THE CONVERSATION STARTED.

* WHY WOULD ANYONE IN THEIR RIGHT MIND PAY $109.99 TO JUMP OFF THE TOP OF THE STRATSPHERE TOWER?

* HOW MANY ONE DOLLAR BILLS WILL A STRIPPER GIVE YOU IF YOU ASK FOR CHANGE FROM A TWENTY?

* COULD THAT GAL FROM MISSOURI THROW THOSE DICE?

* WHAT DOES IT COST TO HAVE SHOTS AT THE TOP OF THE HOUR WITH THE RUDE BARTENDERS AT HOGS AND HEIFERS ON THIRD STREET?

* WHAT ABOUT THE PRIVATE TOUR OF GLITTER GULCH?

* IS IT TRUE THAT NOTHING GOOD HAPPENS AFTER MIDNIGHT? 1AM? 2AM? 3AM? 3:30AM?

THANKS FOR COMING MIKEY, AND I’VE GOT SOME ADDITIONAL PICTURES I’LL POST LATER IN THE WEEK.

Saturday, March 23, 2013

IT SURE IS NICE TO HAVE THE SCOOTER BACK. I TOOK OFF TODAY TO RUN SOME ERRANDS.

FIRST STOP WAS THE EYE DOCTOR TO PICK UP MY NEW GLASSES. SEEMS LAST WEEK WHEN I GOT UP ONE MORNING THE LENSE WAS MISSING ON ONE SIDE OF MY GLASSES. I LOOKED ALL OVER FOR IT INCLUDING MY POCKETS, AND IN THE CAR WHERE IT MUST HAVE FALLEN OUT THE NITE BEFORE.

I EVEN HAD MARY SEARCH AND SHE THOUGHT OF A COUPLE OF OTHER PLACE TO LOOK AS WELL. I HAD TO BE OUT AND ABOUT SO I STOPPED BY THE EYE DOCTOR AND MADE AN APPOINTMENT FOR THE NEXT DAY FOR AN EXAM AND NEW GLASSES.

WHEN I GOT HOME I WAS OUT ON THE PORCH READING MY KINDLE WITH AN OLD PAIR OF GLASSES AND REMEMBERED THAT WAS WHAT I WAS DOING JUST BEFORE I WENT TO BED. I GRABBED THE BROKEN GLASSES AND SLIPPED THEM ON TO TRY AND READ THE KINDLE, NO WAY!!

THAT MEANS “AZ” THE CAT HAS TO BE INVOLVED. I STARTED SEARCHING IN ALL HIS REGULAR HIDING PLACES LIKE UNDER THE THROW RUGS AND FOUND THE MISSING LENSE UNDER A KITCHEN STOOL.

DAMN CAT !!!

I HADN’T BOUGHT NEW GLASSES FOR SIX YEARS AND THE SCRIPT HAD CHANGED FOR ONE OF MY EYES SO I WENT AHEAD A GOT NEW GLASSES.

(END OF RANT)

NEXT STOP WAS NEEDLES, CA TO BUY MY MONTH’S WORTH OF LOTTO TICKETS, THEN ACROSS THE MOHAVE DESERT TO GOLDEN SHORE FOR .75 TACOS AT HOOCH’S. DOESN’T THIS PARKING LOT FULL OF QUADS REMIND YOU OF A TAVERN IN WISCONSIN FULL OF SNOWMOBILES?

(OPPS, FORGOT TO CHANGE THE WATERMARK, NO UNCLE HANS DIDN’T TAKE THE PHOTO.)

OLD ROUTE 66 PAST THE BOUNDRY CONE AND HOME THE BACK WAY FOR A TOTAL OF 85 MILES ON THE RED HONDA SCOOTER FOR TODAY, IT SURE IS NICE TO HAVE THE SCOOTER BACK!

Thursday, March 21, 2013

Not much going on today. I need a project. A look outside finds some crappy weather, snowing and blowing. What a great day for a garage project.........

....and what better project than a boat project? The old boat has a "ski tripod" which keeps the tow rope out of the water and makes skiing and water sporting much more fun. It is the shiny chrome tripod-looking thingy.....

.....A "driver error" (that would be me) caused too much slack in the rope while tubing, which resulted in the anchor for one leg of the tripod to totally pull out of the fiberglass. Damn! I hate when that happens!!.....

.....This is what the normal, not crashed anchor looks like..........

.....As you can imagine, there is tremendous stress on these anchors at times. That is why one failed. So repairing one after the fiberglass is trashed will take some ingenuity . First the decorative rail and the old cruising light pole holder are removed.....

........ then the hole in the fiberglass is enlarge to allow me to get my hand inside. setting next to the enlarged hole is the anchor plate, which we now have to figure out how to reattach to fiberglass that is no longer there.....

....I am going to use 3/4 inch plywood, which has a lot of strength. If you look carefully, you will see the first of six anchor bolts to attach the plywood. It is drilled through the fiberglass around the old gaping hole.....

.....the anchor bolts are 9/16. and when they fasten something......it STAYS fastened!.....

...... now, after some bad language, because I have to work in a hole and tighten these bolts inside and upside down and blind, there are 6 anchoring bolts.

Today IS a good day for a garage project. Jake and his guy Andy showed up to work on his work truck in the heated garage......

....next the plywood is cut and drilled to fit the 6 anchor bolts (the hammer is to make it "fit better")....

.......then the round anchor plate is attached to the plywood, the tripod strut is attached to the anchor plate, and the nuts are threaded on over big washers above and below and tightened.

Now it is as strong or stronger than new (just not very attractive. Renee will be painting it later.)

The average "ice off" date for the lake is April 15th. The boat goes in the water soon after that, as a rule, but I have a feeling it will be late this year. There is still 20+ inches of ice and supposed to be -3 tonight......

......It is not hard at this point to choose between ice skating or tubing.......

Tuesday, March 19, 2013

We recently had the time to take a road trip to south Texas. Our destination was South Padre Island. We tried to go there last year, but the weather was crappy and we just visited some old friends instead of visiting the island, which is nearby.

We have done the Keys a couple of times, and our exploration there was disappointing, kinda rundown, and very few, if any, beaches. We took our trusty LVSHACK and made sandwiches all through the night, like usual. Renee makes a mean sandwich. The first picture was a welcome site: the bridge out to the island, after 25 hours of driving......

.............South Padre is as close to a tropical Caribbean island as you can get in the USA. The temps are cool in Jan/Feb, like 70's, but mostly in the 80's the rest of the time. It has the best beach in Texas...........

...........We looked at some condos on the beach. The prices are good, but not as good as last year, and they are headed up with the economic recovery. Interestingly, the "peak season" is June/July/August, when the rest of Texas swelters in the heat and wants to come to South padre and sit on the beach. We would NEVER want to leave Cable Lake during that time, so all that rental money goes into our pocket to help pay the mortgage. In Belize, in contrast, the tourism falls to near zero in the summer. The winter on South Padre, is quiet, and it is easy to get a reservation. Spring and fall are active but not crowded. These are a couple of buildings we looked at......

.......the condo thing is a work in progress. All the nice stuff is still pretty expensive in spite of the recession. But going up by the day. Hopefully we can stretch our budget and turn Jan/Feb ice skating into beachcombing!!

....we stayed in a tiny county RV park for 17$ for electric only. right on the beach. The ocean side is for beachnicks and the "lagoon" side is for fishing, and watersporting as the water is protected from the wind and pounding surf and smoother. ....

.....we still got to visit with our friends, Ed and Judy, and they took us to Mexico to do some shopping for a day....

.....unfortunately, we had a scheduling conflict and we had to return early to take call for a colleague using Sunday as a travel day to go to a meeting. That cut 2 days off our stay. And that's a lot of driving for a short stay. This is what I remember of the driving. 10 of these stops. But still better than flying and renting a car, in our book....

......We got back for this nice sunrise on Sunday morning, just in time to do an appendectomy in Saint Croix Falls. Then on to some snowmobiling with a friend...........

Sunday, March 17, 2013

SEEMS LIKE THIS PROJECT WAS STARTED YEARS AGO, BUT IT’S ONLY BEEN A COUPLE MONTHS. THE NEW HANDLEBAR PROJECT FOR THE SCOOTER IS FINALLY FINISHED. HERE ARE THE OLD ONES.

WE ARE HANGING ON TO THESES IN CASE THE NEW BARS FAIL.

TO REVIEW, THE NEW SCOOTER IS MOSTLY PLASTIC AND THE ONLY WAY TO TIE IT DOWN TO HAUL IT IS BY THE HANDLEBARS. THE ORIGINAL HANDLEBARS FROM HONDA TOTALLY COLLAPSED ONCE AND STARTED TO BEND A SECOND TIME, SO I DECIDED TO HAVE NEW BARS CUSTOM MADE OUT OF SOLID STEEL.

I DIDN’T WANT TO WAIT ANY LONGER OR GO TO THE ADDITIONAL EXPERIENCE OF HAVING THEM CHROMED, SO THEY ARE SOLID BLACK AND LOOK JUST FINE ON THE SCOOTER.

THE NEXT STEP IS TO TIE THE SCOOTER ON THE BACK OF THE PICK-UP AND GIVE IT ALL A TEST RUN. I THINK I’LL WAIT UNTIL COLE IS AVAILABLE TO SUPERVISE THE TESTING.

GETTING THE SCOOTER BACK HAS SURE PERKED ME UP AS I GET BACK OFF MY ASS AND TURN OFF THE LAPTOP.

THE HAPPY CAMPERS

WE STARTED THIS BLOG IN THE SPRING OF 2006 TO KEEP OUR FAMILY AND FRIENDS "UP TO SPEED" ON OUR DAILY LIVES, LIVING IN A 34 FOOT CAMPER. WE USE THE "HODGEPODGE" APPROACH TO BLOGGING AND INCLUDE WHAT WE'RE THINKING, GUEST ENTRIES, DAILY LIFE, CASINO STORIES, COOKING STORIES, TRAVEL STORIES, AND A GENEROUS PINCH OF BULLSHIT.MARY AND I SHARE IN THE WRITING OF THE BLOG, AND REX ALWAYS TYPES IN ALL CAPITAL LETTERS, SO YOU CAN TELL WHOM IS WRITING.

OUR WEATHER

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By Uncle Hans

BLOG ENTRIES WRITTEN BY "UNCLE HANS", ARE WRITTEN BY MY BROTHER HANS. HANS LOVES TO WRITE WHEN SO MOVED AND HAS JOINED OUR "TEAM" SO TO SPEAK. THANKS FOR THE BLOG ENTRIES "UNCLE HANS"!!!

Uncle Hans and Renee

REX AND UNCLE HANS

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